When The Psychotic Wolf Howls
by Wings-of-Harmony
Summary: This is a story I wrote for my friend Amber, using her insane, random, attention-seeking, strong, annoying, and dense yet artsy OC, Yuki. One-Shot, OCxDeidara. Rated for language. Reviews are appreciated!
1. Part One

_When The Psychotic Wolf Howls_

_This is a One-shot fan-fic I wrote for my friend, Amber. _

_In return she crafted a picture of a character in my own original story._

_My goal had been ten pages but it ended up being thirty-eight._

_So I've divided this into three parts._

_**This is part one of three.**_

_I only posted it so my technique is displayed in case I decide to accept commission work in the future._

_The main character is Amber's OC, "Yuki Ookami." She is a mentally unstable woman of 17 with many, many odd manners and issues. I worked with what she'd given me, haha._

_Enjoy, y'all!_

* * *

He watched her.

He watched as the young woman, seventeen, attacked the large oak tree in front of her. She seemed to have a fierce fascination with the kunai she was striking with.

She was garbed in a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, with a short-sleeved black belly-shirt beneath it, and baggy black shorts. Her legs, subtly toned from ninja training, were covered by knee-high fish net socks and open-toed black boots. Black fingerless gloves covered her hands, protecting them from becoming overly raw during such training sessions, if one could call her current display "training." Pein himself was more than a little skeptical.

But she did have power. Yes, there was no doubt of that.

Her eyes, he noticed, were strangely unique. Upon examining her, even from a distance he could see they varied greatly. Perhaps it had to do with her abilities somehow? Much like the eerie red irises of the Uchiha within his organization, who constantly had activated his Sharingan.

The woman's right eye was a beautiful shade of green, bright like forest leaves amidst sunlight.

The left was the opposite: purely red, with no pupil to speak of. Black, needle-thin lines pierced the iris in several places, while the surrounding white area was bloodshot to a good degree.

There was a remnant of a scar that reached her nose, a battle wound, Pein assumed.

She possessed dark brown, short, choppy hair, that was highlighted red in some places. In the moments she paused for breath, her hair tended to favor resting on an angle, hanging gently over her left eye. The eye that seemed...not quite right.

Despite the vigorous activity the woman was submitting herself to, her face was neither flushed with exhaustion nor a usual tan color. All of her exposed skin was pale. Pein wondered if she was ill. If that was the case, the ninja wasn't very smart for choosing to train in such a condition.

"What are you looking at?" the woman suddenly said. Pein's eyes snapped to hers, curious if she'd found his place of hiding.

But no, he was safe. The squirrel in the tree _above_ the kunoichi? Not so much.

The animal flicked its tail as it looked down at the brunette. It stared, looking annoyed.

She stared back.

And then she smiled, shrugging. "Stay if you want, but this tree gave me the wrong vibe and it's comin' down."

Pein watched her intently. Surely she wasn't going to bring the massive tree to the ground with merely her knife?

As if to satisfy his unspoken curiosity, she put away the kunai and formed a few simple hand signs. Water gathered before her in a massive, floating pool. The canteen pouch she kept at all times on her side contained a good amount of water that she was able to mold, but with her level of skill, it was simple to manipulate the water already in the air.

Bringing her arms back behind her on either side, the hovering mass extended from one pool into several, stretching outward. The water then froze in place. The end result of the ninja's actions were crystal clear spikes of ice, about twenty of them, all roughly five feet in length, awaiting direction in the air around her.

She brought her arms forward in an aggressive gesture, and the spikes slammed into the tree, chopping it in half. The top half of the trunk fell backwards, away from her. The squirrel that had been watching her quickly scurried away into a nearby bush. Birds in the area of the forest she was in flew away, startled by the sudden crash.

With a small wave of her hand, the ice shattered. "Fucking tree. Had it coming. Plotting against me," she mumbled, near incoherently. "That squirrel was probably in on it, too."

Pein raised an eyebrow. _What the hell is with this woman?_

Rather than sit quietly in the bushes for another long span of time, Pein decided it would be as good a time as any to reveal his location. The last thing he wanted was to have to sit through another display of her clearly crazed judgment. It was likely she'd find something else to pick a fight with, perhaps a nearby shrub that looked at her the wrong way. Or maybe she'd fire that water of hers into the air to attempt to strike the sun, thinking it was just too damn bright.

As soon as he appeared, only a few yards away, the woman turned to face him, watching his every move. "Who-"

"My name is Pein. I'm of the Akatsuki. What is your name, woman?" He had no intention of calming her with small talk. The chances of her actually listening and of needlessly attacking him were equally likely.

"Yuki Ookami," she said, still watching him. "What do you want?" She raised her arms to chest level in front of her, a defensive posture. She tilted her head slightly, gaze unwavering, and the red highlights in her hair shined brighter in the rays of sunlight piercing the canopy. She'd heard of the Akatsuki before, but only knew they were a criminal group. She had no knowledge of their actual goals.

"You've got potential, Yuki. I could use someone with your abilities."

"You think I'm going to wander off with a complete stranger wearing a creepy cloak?" she said, mocking him.

"If you want to live, you will," he replied flatly, watching her. He then gestured for her to follow him, turning to walk deeper through the trees.

Yuki shrugged. "Why not." She found Pein more than a little strange. The black cloak with red clouds definitely boded something ill for her, but his eyes were what sent her on alert. The abnormal red-orange color of them reminded her of herself, how her own eyes were not what people considered "the usual."

Her eyes were the reason she was training in the forest in the first place. Back home, they banned her from their village, the village of the Ryu-Ookami clan, because of what she'd done. Complete rejection.

Yuki's mind was not stable enough to argue against the possibility of death by following the man she was now walking beside. Her mind was also not stable enough to perceive the fear any normal person would've felt during such a situation.

Her perceptions of her surroundings were cut short, though, when she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head. She fell forward but was caught by strong arms. Yuki looked up, and the last thing she saw before blacking out was the owner of the Rinnegan staring down at her, fiery hair framing his stoic face.

* * *

"Ugh...what happened?" Yuki mumbled, opening her mis-matched eyes to the world. The room she was in was very dark, but she could make out the shapes of furniture, including the bed she was lying in.

"Pein had to knock you out to bring you here," a man spoke up from beside her bed. "Didn't want you telling our enemies our current position." Yuki turned her head to peer through the darkness at him, but didn't bother sitting up. The voices told her it would harm her if she did.

"Who are you?" she asked, faintly making out blond hair.

"Deidara. And you're Yuki Ookami, the ice-wielder we were told about. If it helps to console you any, we don't plan to kill you. Well...not right now."

Yuki couldn't see his face, but his tone of voice told her he'd smirked at her then.

"Why the fuck am I here?" she demanded, though she wasn't sure where "here" was.

"The base of the Akatsuki. Pein said we could use your abilities, though I'm not sure why he chose you. You don't seem all that powerful to me. Not very nice, either."

"I don't care what you think," Yuki hissed. She raised her arms from the bed to conjure water, but the man attending her shook his head.

"There are several other people in our organization. They're not nearly as tolerant as I am. Pein told us not to kill you, but there's a few members here at the base who wouldn't refrain from injuring you if your behavior became too intolerable."

"If you're going to kill me in the end, anyway, why does it matter?" Yuki asked, forming a sphere of water in front of her.

Deidara was silent in response, watching her. He was prepared to defend himself if she decided to launch an attack at him, though something told him that wasn't what she was planning.

The water became the shape of a bird, its wings outstretched in flight. And a second later, it froze, still hovering in the air before her. She took a kunai from a holder on her leg, and began carving designs in the ice for the creature's feathers.

"You're into art, too, hm?" Deidara said, putting his closed hand in front of her. He opened it, and as his fingers moved away from his palm, a small bird made of what Yuki assumed was clay was revealed, moving its tiny wings. "I like birds, too," he said, though not slathering on sincerity.

Terrorists didn't do that kind of thing.

"Clay?" Yuki questioned, looking down at the man's moving art. She gazed at it for a moment, before reaching forward with one hand and poking the object, watching the bird twitch with a strange fascination.

Her forest green and red eyes stared, transfixed on the clay. Deidara formed a single hand sign, invisible in the cover of the darkness of the room, and the bird suddenly exploded. A black cloud enveloped the air between them, and Yuki turned her head sideways against the pillow so as not to start coughing.

"Hm, art's a blast," he said, satisfied with what he'd done. Once the smoke cleared he could see the grin on the woman's face. She sat up and realized it was a mistake, as the voices had said it would be. Her head throbbed with pain, though she did her best to ignore it.

The ice bird she'd created remained floating in the air in front of her, but she put her knife away. She was actually surprised that they'd let her keep her weapons, considering she had motive to attack them, those in the group, or possibly kill them in their sleep. Not that she would, from what she'd seen.

Pein, the leader, she assumed, wasn't overly rude to her, and this Deidara guy didn't seem too bad.

_Why are they such feared criminals?_ she wondered. _The two members I've met so far aren't horrible. Although...they might just kill me when they're finished with_-

"Why am I here, again?" she asked, controlling the bird before her so that it flew in small circles.

"Pein will tell you later on. For now, adjust, and don't piss off anyone. Especially Hidan."

"Who's he?" Yuki asked, tilting her head. The ice bird landed on Deidara's shoulder and tilted its head, as well.

"You'll know when you meet him. Same for Zetsu, actually."

Yuki looked to the bird she'd created and carved to beauty, and in a flash it liquefied into water. She opened her canteen and the water flowed into it from the air.

Deidara just looked at her strangely for a moment, before standing up. Her gesture reminded him of Gaara, how the special sand he used in battle always returned to the gourd he kept on his back.

"Is that special water?" he asked.

Yuki rolled her eyes. "It's normal, idiot. 'Special' water sounds like something spiked."

"What I mean is, is there some reason you keep it in that pouch?"

"It's easier to use than concentrating the water in the air. And with my chakra always flowing through the water's cells, I can take a liquefied ice sculpture, place it inside, and when it emerges again as water, my chakra will reform it to its previous state."

"Hm. Quite a talent you have."

"It's unfortunate your leader thinks so, too."

* * *

When they entered the hall, much brighter in lighting compared to her previous room, Yuki noticed Deidara had some sort of device covering his left eye, though she didn't bother asking what it was for. She also realized that he was wearing the same cloak Pein had been.

"You all wear those, don't you?" she asked, fiddling with the fishnet of her shirt.

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. It just looks good on you. Must be the blond," Yuki said, slowing her pace as she walked. There was door fast approaching and she was nervous as to what (or who) was on the other side.

"Hm. We're just going to the kitchen. If we're going to use your power, you need to have your strength up."

Yuki half smiled. "Oh." He allowed her to enter the room first, then walked in behind her. Kisame and Itachi were already in the kitchen, looking as if they'd already eaten and were standing by idly, waiting for something to happen. Zetsu was leaving through another door just as Yuki entered, and Tobi was standing near one of the counters.

Itachi gave Deidara a questioning glance, while Kisame just looked at their new pawn.

"Oh my gosh!" Yuki exclaimed, merging her words into one with the speed she'd uttered them. In an instant she was beside Kisame, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"What the hell, Deidara," Kisame said, wishing he could back away from the girl. The counter behind him prevented it. "Keep her on a shorter leash."

Yuki didn't seem affected by the man's chatter. "You're like...a shark...only...you're a person." She reached up to touch his face, wanting to know if what she was seeing was real, but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

Yuki glanced at her halted arm and grinned in amusement. "So you like to play that way, do you?"

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "What's she talking about, Deidara?"

The blond shrugged. "Who knows. Pein said she was a little...odd."

Itachi merely looked at the woman, with no sympathy for the attention she was giving his partner.

"Tobi is happy to see you," the masked member spoke up, beside Yuki. Yuki turned, pulling gently away from Kisame in the process. "Oh, hello. I'm Yuki."

"He's Kisame," Tobi introduced, "and his partner there is Itachi. The one who left earlier is Zetsu. Tobi thinks Yuki should stay away from him."

Yuki's stomach growled, and she smiled nervously. "I guess I was hungry and didn't realize it?"

Deidara walked over to a cupboard and sighed. "What do you want?"

"Pancakes."

"It's eight in the evening."

"Add strawberries, then."

Deidara retrieved the pancake mix and placed the box on the counter. "Make it yourself. I've got things to do. Just don't burn down the kitchen."

Itachi silently left the room, and Kisame followed, a little freaked by the new girl's behavior. Why, exactly, had Pein brought such a woman to the base? He'd contemplated chopping off her arm when she'd tried to touch him, but Pein's order had rung out clearly in his mind. _Don't bring serious harm to Yuki. She'll be valuable to us, with the power to manipulate water and ice. She'll serve our plans better if she's still able to move and cast jutsu._

And so he'd restrained himself. He noticed Deidara had been the first one to take her under his wing, if it could be called that. He displayed a tolerant attitude towards her, though it was probably for the sake of their overall goal.

"I can't make any promises," Yuki said, approaching the stove. Tobi slid gracefully over to her. "Need help?"

"Go away Tobi," Deidara said, already annoyed. He then left the room, off on errands, expecting Tobi to follow him. Reluctantly, the masked man obeyed, waving to Yuki as he left.

"Yuki should come by Tobi's room when she's done! Tobi loves pancakes, too!"

The door closed.

Yuki poured the batter in the pan over the flames and sighed. "I don't even know where his room is. Do I?"

The voices answered, saying that no, she didn't.

Unlike the other members of the Akatsuki, Yuki didn't find annoyance in Tobi's manner of speaking, which was for the most part third-person. It was unique. Like her.

She also wondered why he wore that orange mask. Just what was he hiding? Her thoughts on possible answers to that question clouded her conscious thought, causing her to nearly burn the pancake she was making. She flipped it over in the pan and her thinking shifted to Deidara.

Damn was he good-looking.

* * *

_Knock knock._ "Tobi?" Yuki heard no answer from the other side of the door she was knocking her fist against. Her other hand held a plate with pancakes topped with syrup and strawberry pieces. A part of her didn't know why she'd made them for him at all. Another part did it out of boredom. And the part of her inclined to insanity felt there was no harm in the gesture, despite the fact he was probably a murderer.

The fifth door she came to she didn't even bother knocking on, for she hadn't once gotten an answer. "Tobi, are you-"

The sight within the room made Yuki nearly drop the plate she was holding.

A bloodied silver-haired man with a scythe was standing in the center of what appeared to be some sort of pentagram. He had numerous injuries to himself, so many that blood was pooled on the floor in some places. There were a few candles around the dark room that made everything dimly illuminated.

"What the fuck do you want?" Hidan hissed, standing up. Yuki's eyes diverted to his chest, exposed by the cloak, cut deeply in a few areas, then returned to his face. He looked beyond angry. Hidan had heard what Pein had said about the girl, but he didn't plan on being merciful to her. He thought her better suited as a sacrifice to Jashin, not a puppet to use in missions.

"Well I was looking for Tobi and-"

The scythe the man was holding caught her eye. The blade shined in the dim light given off by the candles. Blood dripped off the three blades and on to the floor. The fatally sharp edges gleamed beautifully, calling out....

Yuki set the plate down on the table beside the door and launched forward, seizing the handle of the scythe and succeeding in temporarily taking the weapon from him.

Hidan glared. "What the hell do you think you're doing, bitch?"

Yuki tuned him out and ran her fingers along the separate blades, admiring them. "Sharp." She smiled mischievously to herself.

"I could kill you," Hidan said, seething with rage now. He grabbed his scythe from her hands and held it in an aggressive posture, hoping she would get the message and leave.

Normal Yuki thought it best to leave, to take her pancakes and go. But unstable Yuki wanted to stay.

"Deidara warned me about you. You're Hidan, right?" She pointed her finger at him while speaking, acting in no way threatened.

"Yeah, and you're the bothersome bitch that interrupted my ritual prayer to Jashin. Leave before I-"

"There's a ton of blood, just, everywhere," Yuki continued, looking around. "How are you not dead?"

"I'm immortal, bitch," Hidan replied, further tempted to decapitate the woman on the spot. She was crazy for entering his room at such a time, and crazier for staying.

Yuki then dropped to her knees, running her index finger through a pool of blood. "Still warm," she mused, moving her bloodied finger around the floor, drawing something the man above her could only guess at.

"What the fuck are you-"

"Ta-da!" she moved her hand away and revealed a dragon. Thick and thin lines, curved simply but precisely, comprised the form of a dragon with its wings spread wide. "Ryu," she said happily, smiling.

Hidan snapped. "Drawing a fucking picture with my blood, bitch? I don't care what Pein said, I'm seriously going to kill you. And I'm going to enjoy it."

He swung the three-bladed scythe down upon her, but not before Yuki rolled skillfully out of the way. Kneeling beside him now, she watched as the scythe collided with the hard floor and was then dragged back up. Hidan spun to his side to see Yuki backing away, conjuring water in front of her, probably for an attack.

"That won't do shit!" he yelled angrily, lunging forward at her. He brought the blades down again and Yuki side-stepped most of his attack. The edge of the bottom blade just barely nicked her shoulder, cutting a large section of her black short-sleeve and an even larger section of the long-sleeved fishnet shirt she wore over it. Blood trickled down her arm but she didn't seem to notice it.

From a few feet away the girl created a sword out of the water, then hardened it into ice, making it deadly sharp. But before she could think to aim a strike, Hidan impaled her stomach with the handle of the scythe, quickly spinning it in his hand to return it to its normal attack angle. "Fucking bitch!"

He thought it pathetic she even bothered creating the sword at all. Watching as she fell to the ground by the force of his blow, he readied his weapon to attack again, the finishing touch.

Yuki had landed on her back by the sheer power of his offense, but she knew he'd throw the scythe again, she'd expected it. With a burst of speed she rolled to her right, standing up with ease, sword still in hand. The scythe once again met the floor, causing a loud clang to echo in the room. Yuki jumped forward and spun to her left, easily landing in front of him. In comparison, Yuki's speed was so suddenly great that Hidan appeared to be moving in slow motion.

He wasn't of course, and clearly saw her clever move to get close and attack before he was able to raise the massive blades again. Yuki thrust her ice sword into his chest, not aiming for the heart, just a really, really bad flesh wound. And if it happened to hit a lung? Well, he started it.

The short sword she was holding must've hit a bone somewhere, she guessed, because it ceased to slide into him any further. What she didn't know was that he'd _let _her do it.

"Stupid bitch," Hidan cursed, a sadistic smile forming on his face. The previous injuries from his ritual didn't phase him, and he seemed to be grinning in joy at the fact blood was escaping from both the wound she'd inflicted and his mouth.

For a moment Yuki seemed mesmerized by him, watching as the crimson liquid passed his lips, and flowed almost poetically from his many cuts and gashes. She wasn't a masochistic person, but Yuki's mind tended to distract itself occasionally by the simplest – usually strangest – things.

Green and red eyes, both fierce, met those of a silver, lavender hue. Normally, Yuki wore a bandage over her left eye, the one that suffered from being half blind. But the day she'd been training in the forest, she'd put away her bandaging cloth and had not had time to re-wrap it, having been basically kidnapped via an alternative of death.

She noticed Hidan's eyes were just...beautiful. Beautiful for someone whose face was twisted with a sickened joy and unrestrained anger, both emotions shining through at the same time. Both directed at her.

"I'm immortal, your weapons can't hurt me," Hidan said, raising his scythe behind her.

Yuki felt the movement and near panicked. The seventeen-year-old girl in her was somewhat enjoying the close proximity to the man she'd struck, but the ninja in her was fearing for her life.

"Bitch, you're going to die," Hidan said maliciously, smirking as he readied to strike the final blow. The sound Yuki heard immediately after, though, was not the sound of metal piercing flesh and bone, but rather a voice.

"If I'd known you were having a stripper get involved in your sadistic rituals, I would've taken my time coming back here," said a man in the doorway, sporting the Akatsuki cloak and white and black cloth that concealed his face. Cold, green eyes stared at the two ninja, the mystery man's build shadowed by the light framing him from in the hallway. He glanced down at the pancakes on the nearby table, but delayed in saying anything regarding them.

"Fuck you, Kakuzu!" Hidan shouted. "This bitch ain't a fucking stripper! She-"

"Yeah, her hair messed itself up and the clothes tore themselves. Girl's probably loving all that blood with the mix of elixirs you put in those pancakes, eh? Real potent, by what I can see. Still several left on the plate."

Yuki looked from herself to Hidan, noticing they did indeed look strange, standing the way they were, both bloodied, disheveled, out of breath.

"Shut the fuck up!" Hidan roared, aiming his rage at his partner. Yuki took this opportunity to run. She slipped out of his range, leaving the sword intact, ran past her blood-drawn dragon on the floor, grabbed the plate of pancakes, and slipped past Kakuzu effortlessly out into the hallway.

Of course the bright lighting in the hall didn't guarantee her safety, so she ran into the nearest room, closing the door behind her.

"Yuki's here!" Tobi exclaimed, happy to see her. "Tobi's been waiting. And Yuki really brought pancakes!"

Yuki nearly dropped the plate once again, shouting in frustration, "God damn it!"

* * *

"Once wolf and dragon were friends, the dragon controlled the sea and skies while the wolf controlled the ground and darkness. They would laugh and play and the days passed quickly, but one day things changed. A ghost stole the moon from dragon and blamed it on wolf, saying that he could not steal the glorious moon. Dragon after much persuasion agreed that wolf had done it and pushed the seas, creating dragon minions that destroyed wolf's home. The wolf shocked by his friend's anger asked why, but the ghost said that Dragon threatened to steal the sun. The wolf, angry at this, sent shadow wolves after dragon. Both being able to control elements, they fought in a large battle, ending it in an area that was complete ash. Both were evenly matched, and established that the shadow wolves and water dragons would serve as the spirit guides to any person born with the physical traits of a dragon, whiskers and red hair, and wolf, red tinted hair. But that is why the sun and moon come and go each day, the wolf steals the moon while the sun shines, and the dragon steals the sun when it sets."

Tobi took another bite of pancake. "THAT'S the legend of Yuki's clan?" he confirmed, sounding like he was in awe.

Yuki nodded. "Yes, that's where the two strains of our clan came from. The Ookami stand for the wolf, and the Ryu represent the dragon in the story. I memorized it, years back."

Her memorization was a feat by itself, considering the girl's short memory and tendency to be absent-minded, often at inconvenient times.

"If all the people are of the same clan, how do people know what group they belong to?" he asked.

"It's all directed by element affinity, what your gift is, when you're born. The Ookami are the ones with the water-crafting ability, which I have. The Ryu have power over shadows. Though it's uncommon, I gained skill in water and developed power with ice. I was named a Ryu, officially, though."

"Yuki is a lot like an Ookami," Tobi noted, taking another bite of pancake. "So how does Yuki fall under the group of Ryu?"

"The Ryu posses the Dragon Wheel, which lets us see various forms of chakra. Unlike other Ryu, though, I can't use it to put enemies into the feared shadow world. Mine is limited that way, but it's always activated, to see chakra." She pointed to her left eye, drawing attention to its bloodshot state, a red orb scarred by black needle-like marks, lacking a pupil. Her green eye stood out in comparison.

"The Ryu are also afflicted with what's called the Shadow of Progression. It is said that the shadows the Ryu control as their affinity slowly take over their body, making them lose their minds. For me, it's worse, my mind has suffered more than others my age."

"Why?" Tobi asked simply, taking another bite.

"Because of what I did back home, my blood became mixed, and is a danger to me. I was raised as a Ryu because of my family ties, my Ryu parents, even though my affinity fit that of an Ookami. My sister, Kaji, she was brilliant with shadows, the Ryu affinity. It made me jealous, seeing how much others respected her, how good she was. I loved Kaji, but I wanted to be shown that same love by the rest of the clan. So...two years ago, when I was still living with the clan, I took her left eye and replaced it with my own, which is why the Shadow of Progression affects me so much, my blood. I thought it would give me the same ability with shadows, so I would be recognized like her. But the Ryu all hated me for it, and sent me away."

"Into the forest, where Pein found Yuki," Tobi finished. He moved his mask a final time to eat the last bite of pancake, then placed the fork on the plate on the bed beside him, where they were both sitting.

"By being banned, though, I spent much time training. I learned how to better control my powers, and reached new levels of ability with my water and ice skill." She ran a gloved hand through her brown and red hair and smiled. "And now I'm here."

"Tobi is happy Yuki is here," he said cheerfully. Yuki, sitting next to him on the bed, hugged him suddenly, nuzzling her pale face against his orange mask. "Aw, really?"

Tobi nodded. "Yeah, Yuki makes good pancakes!"

Yuki ceased the embrace and huffed, crossing her arms. "Hidan enjoyed my company more than _you_," she mumbled sarcastically, referring to the man's obvious liking for her pancakes rather than her presence itself.

"Yuki visited Hidan? Is that why there is blood on Yuki's arm and chest?" Tobi asked, sounding concerned, now.

Yuki smiled sheepishly. "I got a little lost."


	2. Part Two

_When The Psychotic Wolf Howls_

_This is a One-shot fan-fic I wrote for my friend, Amber. _

_In return she crafted a picture of a character in my own original story._

_My goal had been ten pages but it ended up being thirty-eight._

_So I've divided this into three parts._

_**This is part two of three.**_

_I only posted it so my technique is displayed in case I decide to accept commission work in the future._

_The main character is Amber's OC, "Yuki Ookami." She is a mentally unstable woman of 17 with many, many odd manners and issues. I worked with what she'd given me, haha._

_Enjoy, y'all!_

* * *

"What did you DO, Yuki?" Deidara's voice came from across the room. The sound of the door closing marked the end of the question.

Yuki hadn't even heard him _enter_ the room.

"What are you talking about?" Yuki asked, her mind not registering what she possibly could have done to make him so suddenly distressed.

"Hidan! He's having a fit and shouting about some incident regarding an interrupted ritual. I'm guessing you had something to do with it."

Yuki titled her head. "What makes you think that?"

"The blood I'm seeing from the injury on your shoulder."

"Oh. That." Yuki thought for a moment. "HE started it!"

Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Yuki stopped by Hidan's room," Tobi informed, wanting his teammate to know what was going on.

"Hm. You better stick with me when you travel throughout the base, at least until he calms down. If he gets you alone, he'll kill you, regardless of your purpose here. By the way-"

Yuki's out-of-the-blue embrace halted his speech. "Kay!" she exclaimed happily, arms around him. Having him follow her around the base was definitely not something she was going to oppose.

Deidara continued, not seeming phased by her behavior. "Anyway, Pein wanted to speak with you now, about what you'll be doing. I'll take you to him."

Yuki nodded, her expression as joyful as a giddy school girl's. The voices, the shadows, the general insanity, caused mood shifts sometimes, which led to Yuki's unstable self being rather excitable. Deidara didn't really mind, though.

Compared to the gloomy atmosphere the other Akatsuki members emanated, Yuki was a breath of fresh air. Charming, if not a little crazy.

And cute, too.

* * *

"I'm kidnapping people?" Yuki said, wide-eyed gaze focused on the leader, who was masked for the most part by the dark shadows in the room.

"Yes. I'm sure you can handle that, with your abilities. You will bring them back here where they will be questioned. That said, once Deidara reveals the location of this base to you, you are not permitted to leave us. We will kill you if you even try."

Yuki was going to answer but her eyes locked on Deidara. Specifically, his hands. Were those...mouths?

Her eyes widened only slightly as she gazed at him, then her stare moved up to his face. He smirked, lifting his left hand to present his open palm. The mouth stuck its tongue out at her in a playful gesture.

Yuki grinned. "AWESOME!!"

Pein cleared his throat. "Then you understand?"

Yuki turned. "Uh, what?"

"Do you understand your purpose here?" Pein repeated, annoyed.

"What purpose?" she asked, tilting her head, having completely forgotten the topic at hand.

The leader sighed. "Leave my sight. Deidara, you'll accompany her on her first outing so she can comprehend what it is her job is."

Deidara only nodded and took the woman's arm to lead her out of the room.

"Yuki, you should try to pay more attention," he said, walking down the hallway with her.

She didn't seem to hear him, though, for she was staring worriedly at the blood on her arm. Some of it had dried, but she hadn't properly dressed the wound yet.

"We'll get you cleaned up, then we're leaving. I'll leave it to you to subdue our target. I'm only coming with you this once. Then you're going to be on your own, think you can handle-"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed happily, embracing his cloaked arm as they walked.

"Hm." Deidara rolled his eyes, guiding her to one of the bathrooms to tend to her injuries.

* * *

"There." Deidara had just finished bandaging the cut on the woman's arm, and she had cleaned away the blood herself. Yuki was sitting on the sink counter top much like a child would. Deidara had offered to just get her a chair, but she refused.

"Now all that's left are those clothes," he said, looking her up and down, thinking.

Yuki could feel her face redden slightly. Thoughts emerged in her mind which did not help calm her nerves. She was seventeen, after all, not seven.

"What about them?" she asked, watching him.

"Well we can't have you walking around in ripped fishnet, can we?" he reasoned.

Yuki tilted her head. "I don't know...can we?"

Deidara half smiled and shook his head. "No. Wait here, I'll get you something." He left without a sound.

Yuki obeyed and sat quietly, swinging her feet as she looked around the room. It was white for the most part, very clean looking. This surprised her, considering the only members of the Akatsuki she'd seen so far were men. "Maybe they're all just really neat," she thought aloud, then shook her head. "No, that can't be it. Maybe they're...gay." She giggled at the thought.

"Sure, that's possible. A group of men living together in some secret hide-away, no women, not even women servants. They don't look like neat-freaks to me, and people back home said that if a man was really tidy he was probably not quite straight."

With a sad thought Yuki's expression changed. "And all the good men are either married, taken, or gay. Just my luck. No wonder he's so cute...". And what was up with Hidan? Keeping his chest exposed even with that cloak. It just screamed, _Look at me._

Deidara then returned, holding articles of clothing over his arm. It was the same uniform the Akatsuki all wore. Cloak, shoes, pants, all were the same, only in a smaller size. Before he could even think to set the clothes on the counter next to her, he was halted by her question.

"Deidara, are you, uh, ya know, gay...or something?" she asked.

Deidara gave her a strange look for several moments before responding. "No."

"Are you sure?" Yuki persisted.

"Hm. Yes, I'm sure. What makes you think that?"

Yuki shrugged. "You live with all men. And your bathroom is really neat. Whenever I went to a guy friend's house back home, his was always messy, like a tornado had swept through it. And I haven't seen any maids. Then there's Hidan. He seemed near insulted by the idea of a female stripper....And you're really cute, so I thought you must be-"

"We do have a female member with us. Her name is Konan, hm. She's leader's partner."

Yuki sighed. "Well are ANY of you, then? Cause I don't want to say anything to make any of you uncomfortable or-"

Deidara kissed her then, pressing his lips to hers just firm enough to get her to stop questioning him. Yuki froze, and missed her chance to react because he pulled away, just like that.

"Believe me. We're ALL straight. God, you have some weird thoughts in that head of yours." He looked amused, a smile on his face. "Think we're a satanic cult, too?"

Yuki smiled nervously. "It may have crossed my mind."

Deidara rolled his eyes and set the clothes on her lap. "Put these on. I'll wait outside. Then, we're off."

Yuki nodded, picking up the black shirt she'd be wearing under the cloak. When the door closed, she grinned happily.

* * *

"There's your target," Deidara said, crouching on the tree branch next to Yuki. "Hm, he doesn't look too strong. Think you can handle this on your own?"

Yuki nodded, a determined fire in her mismatched eyes. "Yeah." She leaped from the tree, landing in the section of the forest the other ninja was walking.

Upon her swift landing in front of him, the man stepped back in caution. "Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowed. He'd been on a scouting mission for the Waterfall Village, as was displayed by the headband wrapped around his right arm. He wore a blue vest over a gray and black shirt and gray pants, with blue open-toed shoes. The blond man looked to be in his thirties, but Yuki wasn't afraid of him.

"I'm here to pick you up," Yuki explained, drawing water from her pack. The top fell to the ground as water poured out of it and into the air, already filled with chakra. The ice bird from before appeared, and it flew gracefully toward the man.

He eyed it and the seventeen year old suspiciously. "Go away, girl, I'm on errands." He turned on his heel to walk away and resume scouting, but before he could take a step, a wall of ice solidified in front of him so quickly that he almost hit it. "What the-"

"You should just come quietly," Yuki said, twirling her index finger in a circle, causing her ice bird to move in circles around him.

The blond man scoffed, "If it's a fight you want, you got it." He retrieved a kunai from his pack and was about to strike when the ice bird dissolved into water in front of him. Its size grew, and in seconds there was a giant mass of sparkling water before him, only feet away. It surrounded him on all sides.

Yuki cupped her hands together as if to enclose air, and the water did the same. The sphere became smaller until it was suffocating her opponent, suspended in a ball of water. He struggled for a few moments, and Deidara landed beside her, watching his movements become weaker.

"Hm. You know we can't interrogate a dead man, right, Yuki?"

Yuki blinked. "Oh, yeah." She released the water around the other ninja and walked over to him. Too fatigued to move away, Yuki took advantage of his state and knocked him upside the head with her fist, succeeding in making his world go dark.

"There." She smiled and some of the water still suspended returned to her canteen, while the rest dissolved into the air. Yuki picked up the top of the bottle and put it on, then pointed to the man unconscious on the forest floor.

"You don't expect me to carry a man double my weight all the way back to your base, do you?"

Deidara smirked. "You'll be on your own after today. Find a way to get it done, hm."

Yuki stared at him for a moment, before forming a whip with water, partially ice. She wrapped it around the man's waist and began walking. Behind her dragged the body of the man destined for torture and death.

Deidara smirked. "That works."

* * *

Yuki sat in the living room of the base later that day, after delivering the captive to Pein. She'd not wished to stick around to observe the torture he was bound to receive. After all, it was that same treatment she was most likely going to get once everything was over.

_Physical torture, pain..._

_ They'll kill you slowly._

_ You won't have a purpose,_

_No place here._

_ Just like back home._

_Your life will be meaningless._

_ What would Kaji think?_

_Oh, that's right, she doesn't know._

_ None of them know._

_ They all hate you, Yuki. _

_They all shun you._

_ Such a retched person,_

_ Stealing your own sister's eye._

_ How selfish._

_And look what you've amounted to._

_ This._

_ Living among criminals._

_I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you._

_ For all I know,_

_They're secretly plotting against me._

_ Yes, that's probably what they're doing._

_Plotting my demise, my death, even now._

_ And soon the shadows..._

_ Oh yes, let's not forget your companions, Yuki._

_The shadows will consume you completely._

_ And there will be nothing left._

_Not for you._

_ Not for your clan, though they wouldn't want you now._

_And especially not for Deidara-_

"Shut up!!!" Yuki screamed, covering her ears with both hands in an attempt to block out her innermost thoughts. They were her thoughts, most of them rising to the surface from her subconscious, thoughts she had little control over. But they were always present.

Suddenly Deidara was in the room, standing in the doorway. "What's going on, Yuki?"

Yuki turned her head to look at him, surprised at his sudden appearance.

"What?" she replied, confused as to what he was referring to.

"You screamed," he said flatly, waiting for an answer.

"Oh." So she had. She just wanted her thoughts to be still. Just for a little while. Of course, it was hard to maintain them when a shadow was slowly eating away at your mind, your soul, your very being.

_The voices._

"Just shut up!" Yuki jumped up from her spot on the couch, strangely orange in color, and bolted for her room. She hadn't paid attention to what hallway she'd gone down but with a blessing from above she managed to find her way to the right door, which she swiftly entered and locked behind her.

Deidara was left standing in the dim living room, dumbfounded. "What did I say, hm?"

* * *

Dinner was awkward that night. Not because Deidara was there, having to face Yuki after what she had so oddly exclaimed. Not because the rest of the organization was there, as Tobi was the only other person in the kitchen. And not because Yuki had threatened to assault Tobi at random via newspaper if he probed into the goings-on between her and Deidara again. No, none of that was what made things awkward.

It was Hidan.

He was somewhere in the base, fuming, seething. Yuki felt safe by Deidara's side, of course, and that was the problem.

"I can't sleep in my room," Yuki bluntly pointed out, a topic Deidara knew was coming. "He'll _get me_ in there."

She took a bite of her Honey-O cereal and set her spoon in the half-empty bowl impatiently, chewing almost angrily. "Probably kill me in my sleep."

Deidara sighed inaudibly. "Hm. Well I don't think you should sleep in my room." He took a drink from the cup next to him on the table, though Yuki didn't know what it contained, and didn't care enough to ask.

"Then WHERE do you propose I sleep? You said yourself he's out to get me. Until he calms down, you have to protect me. Apparently he can't die, so my attacks won't do anything to him."

Tobi nearly bounced in his seat. "Yuki can sleep in Tobi's room!" he exclaimed, cheery.

Yuki's hand twitched, its own mind willing it to pick up the newspaper beside her and smack the man with it. _Was_ he a man, though? He acted more like a child at times.

"Fine, hm. You can stay with me until he calms down. Maybe he'll take out his masochistic rage on someone else and things will settle. But you're getting the floor, that's it."

Yuki raised an eyebrow, taking another bite of cereal. She nearly choked it down in order to answer him. "You expect me to sleep on the floor? It's fucking cold, Deidara. This place feels like it's underground, or something."

Deidara shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

Yuki sighed. "Fine."

"Can Tobi join in, too?" the masked man asked. Though they couldn't see his face, Yuki would've bet he had a hopeful grin on his face.

"No," Deidara replied, taking another drink. The only reason he'd agreed to Yuki sleeping with him in the first place was to keep Tobi's paws off her.

"Oh, is it because Yuki likes Deidara and-"

_Whack!!_

"Shut up, Tobi!" Yuki ordered, swatting in the head the ninja beside her with the rolled-up newspaper.

Deidara smirked at this, but didn't say anything.

"That was a private conversation," Yuki whispered, angry. She glared at Tobi, at a mask she couldn't pierce, even with the strong optical ability of the Dragon Wheel, which allowed her to see chakra.

Yes, she'd briefly mentioned Deidara during her previous conversation with the masked wonder. Tobi had listened intently to her girly chatter, savoring the strawberries she'd put on the pancakes before actually digging into them. It was shortly after that she had brought up the story about the legend of her clan between the dragon and the wolf.

Yuki remembered describing the blond man as a number of things, including cute, sexy, and considerate, but never once did she give Tobi permission to disclose her thoughts.

_God I must be crazy, thinking I like this guy, a criminal, a killer...._

"I'll prepare a few blankets for you," Deidara announced, getting up from the table. Yuki looked up at him suddenly, as if she were not expecting him to say so. She tilted her head.

"I may be a missing-nin but I'm not heartless, regardless of your thoughts about our assumed homosexual satanic cult," he joked, walking to the door. He glanced at her only once before leaving the room, contemplation expressed on his handsome face.

Yuki smiled sheepishly at his reply, setting down the paper, and finished eating her cereal in silence.

Of course with Tobi present, it didn't last long.

"Deidara likes Yuki," Tobi stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Yuki nearly choked on her Honey-O's. "W-what?"

Tobi flailed his arms enthusiastically. "Is Yuki happy about the news? Tobi's being good so Yuki is happy!"

Yuki stared at him a moment before answering. "Uh...yeah, I am. But...how do you know that he likes me? Are you sure it isn't the friend type of like?" she asked, her heart sinking a little at the possibility.

"Tobi spoke with Deidara earlier and when Tobi asked how Yuki was doing he said he liked Yuki's spirit, and that he wanted to keep Yuki around because she is interesting!" he finished happily.

Yuki could feel a small blush on her face. "Really? Well...he's a criminal, Tobi. You all are. I'm not bound by morals but I know my clan wouldn't appreciate knowing that I'm here. If they knew I was living with and in love with someone like him, they'd-"

"Yuki said before her clan already disowned her. What would be the difference? Yuki makes Deidara smile. He tries to hide it, but Tobi knows." He nodded, seeming so full of energy that Yuki thought he was going to fall out of his chair.

Yuki finished her cereal and stood up suddenly. "I guess there isn't a difference. Not that it matters. I wouldn't have a chance with him, anyway. He could have any woman he wanted." She made her way out of the kitchen, sulking not-too-subtly in her exit.

Walking down a dim hallway, she turned a random corner, running her hand along the wall, tracing over cracks and lines with her index finger. Amidst her thoughts she sang quietly to herself, not sensing or seeing the chakra of anyone nearby.

"Along came a maiden, dressed in white. Afflicted and blind, gone half her sight. The maiden became a thief, out of envy she said. Along came a maiden, dressed in red. Beyond herself she lived, never once holding back. Along came a maiden, dressed in black-"

"A singing bird come to play?"

Yuki froze mid-step in the hallway, hand still on the cold wall. She knew that voice.

"Hi-"

A hand over her mouth muffled what she would've said. Surprise filled her face and alarms went off in her already chaotic mind.

"It's almost time for my daily prayer, bitch. You'll make a nice present for Jashin," the masochist growled into her ear, and began dragging the woman down the hall towards a candle-lit room already prepared for a special sacrifice.

* * *

Deidara walked into the kitchen not long after, only to see Tobi sharpening a knife. "Hm. Tobi, where's Yuki?"

Tobi shrugged. "Yuki was sad, and went for a walk somewhere."

Deidara's exposed eye widened a small degree. "You idiot! Why'd you let her leave, huh? She'll get herself killed!" He rushed out of the room and made his way down the same hallway Yuki had gone down, sensing a strong amount of chakra in that direction. While running he took clay into his hand and the mouth concealed within began molding it for combat.

* * *

"Ya know," Yuki said, looking around the room, "killing me won't accomplish anything."

"Shut up," Hidan spat, drawing the finishing touches on the sacrificial symbol painted in blood on the floor. It was a circle with a triangle inside, with a few spare marks here and there.

_Why is there always a creepy as hell sacrificial symbol like this? And Deidara thought I was crazy for thinking these people a satanic cult? This guy's more messed up than I am. And that's saying something. Wait, who am I talking to? Me, of course. Oh, yeah. I should probably do something about my current...predicament. Yes, I really should. You think so? Of course. Unless you want to die._

Yuki's thought process was halted with what one might call logic, or extremely close to it. Consciously she had to start talking to try to persuade or even distract the man before her from the idea of her brutal death.

"Violence isn't the-"

"What did I say, bitch?" He stood up, glaring at her. "Was 'shut up' not clear enough for you?"

Yuki thought for a moment, then decided to ignore his question.

"Do you know what anger management is?"

"Are you fucking with m-"

"There's help out there, for people with...issues like yours," Yuki assured, trying to get loose from the rope that tied her to the leg of the bed in the room.

"You're annoying as hell," Hidan said, picking up his scythe. Yuki's eyes locked on it immediately.

"What?" she murmured, staring at the gleam of the silver above her.

Hidan smirked evilly, cutting the rope behind her. He nudged her back with the blades, and Yuki stood, taking a few steps forward, prolonging her life as much as possible by obeying, doing what she thought able. "Lay in that circle," he said, waiting, weapon poised.

Yuki raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Hell no. There's blood all over the floor," she complained, noticing the cut on his chest he'd gotten the liquid from.

"Do it," he growled, glaring once again. "Or I'll just kill you where you stand."

"That anger really is something you should take care of," Yuki insisted, looking almost sympathetically at him, no sense of danger invading her mind.

She swore she saw Hidan's eye twitch. "I swear to Jashin if you don't-"

"Breathe," Yuki said, exaggerating the word to a horribly large degree. "I don't want to fight you again because you can't control your little fits of rage."

With a look of pure hatred Hidan grabbed her cloak and threw her down onto the symbol made of blood. Yuki yelped from surprise and looked up, watching in what seemed like slow motion as he brought his scythe down upon her.

She shut her eyes, not wanting to see the bloodshed as she died, but a loud explosion pierced the air. The impact sent Hidan flying backwards into a wall with a painful-sounding crash, leaving a confused Yuki sitting in blood, surrounded by smoke.

Arms embraced her and lifted her off the ground, to Yuki's delight. "Who-"

"It's me," Deidara's voice replied. "Quiet, I'll get you out of here." Yuki nodded, though in the thick smoke she doubted he could see her.

"Fuck!" Hidan shouted, clearly more enraged now, if that was possible. "Deidara! Give her back!"

"Screw you, Hidan. Don't touch her again, or-"

"Or what?" Hidan challenged, emerging from near the wall to within mere feet from the blond man, a smirk on his face.

"Or I'll sick Tobi on you. He'll follow you on missions, around the base, in town, everywhere, regardless of what Pein says."

"That little mother fucker is worse than her," Hidan hissed. "Keep him the fuck away from me, Deidara. Don't you dare-"

"Then don't touch Yuki. Ever. Again. Got it?"

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Get the hell out of my god-damned room before I fucking kill you both."

Deidara saw his grip on his scythe tighten, and he swiftly left, holding a grateful Yuki in his arms.

Once in the hallway, a blushing Yuki asked, "Is Tobi really that annoying?"

Deidara chuckled. "Hidan wants to kill him whenever he's in the same room. We don't mind him as much, but as you know Hidan has a bit of a temper. Sticking Tobi with him for more than a few days would drive him completely insane, hm. Though he doesn't have far to go, anyway."

Yuki's hold on the man's cloak intensified, and she nodded in response. "Where are we going?"

Deidara turned a corner and glanced down at her as they approached a door, a little ways down the hall.

"YOU are going to get that blood off of you and I'll take the cloak off your hands so it can be cleaned. We have spares."

Yuki giggled and a small but firm voice in her head whispered, "_You like him_." She wasn't sure if it was the insanity talking, the shadows, or if it was her subconscious, voicing its desire to share her feelings.

But he was a murderer, part of the most wanted group of criminals in the five great lands, from what she'd heard. Of course, Yuki never heard very much, mostly because of her constantly-distracted state of mind. Though she was smart enough to understand that sometimes you were better off not knowing.

_Yeah, but I'm not really sure if he likes me the same way_, Yuki thought in response to the quiet voice inside her. _He kills probably on a weekly basis...romance with me is the last thing that would be on his mind-_

"So you want a shower buddy?" Deidara said humorously, smiling playfully.

Yuki's eyes got wide. "The...shower? You and...".

The blond man chuckled. "You're funny, hm. I meant, do you want me to stay in the room? So you don't fear an attack while you're cleaning away the blood."

Yuki shook her head, but reinforced her agreement with words. Words and hopeful eyes. Eyes communicating something the blond barely picked up on. However, what she said contradicted her expression.

"Can't you wait outside, on the other side of the door?" she asked, curiosity in her tone.

Deidara would've shrugged had he not been carrying the woman. "I could, I suppose. It wouldn't be entirely safe for you. We're the Akatsuki, Yuki. It would be a simple task to find another way into a room besides the door."

Yuki blinked, thinking. "Oh."

"So you don't mind me standing guard? I won't be looking at you, or anything," Deidara reassured. A small part of him wanted to, undoubtedly, but he liked keeping her in a good mood, as that was the state in which she was most helpful to the group. If she spotted him peeking she might just blow her top. And no one needed that.

"Fuck yeah," Yuki mumbled, watching the cracks in the dark wall pass by them.

Deidara didn't catch what she said, though he didn't really care. "Well?"

"Uh, yeah I don't mind," Yuki said, smiling nervously up at him. Deidara gave her a strange expression before they finally reached the door to the bathroom.

----------

The blood from the would've-been sacrifice had come into contact with more than the woman's cloak. It had seeped down her arms, covered her ankles and feet, and much of it was soaking her hair from when she'd been pushed down. Her hands were red, though she restrained from making any sort of joke about it.

Deidara had left the bathroom – clean, as it had been before – to get a cloak and new set of clothes, the same size as they had been. He set them on the counter and after closing the door and locking it, turned, facing the door, letting her undress and step into the shower. Mist filled the room quickly, and when he heard the shower curtain pulled closed, he took it as the "okay" to let his eyes wander the room, keeping watch for anyone that might try to start something. He thought of Zetsu, and his ability to conceal himself in objects, like trees, or even the ground, to hide expertly without a trace. And knowing him, Deidara wouldn't even be able to sense his chakra.

Yuki could see it, though. Chakra. Her partially blind left eye, a deadly solid red color scarred by black needles, gave her this ability. She wasn't fond of announcing this power to others. Not because she thought it unwise (because that would be implying she had logical thought more than half the time), but rather because no one really asked her about it. Not that such a topic could be easily introduced in a normal conversation.

"Say, look at that eye, eh? Pretty strange looking, if you ask me," the inquirer would say. "Speaking of asking, mind if I ask you a question? What in the world happened to you? Right eye green as the brightest jade, the other like blood. And those markings? What, a surgery gone wrong? Is that not disorienting?"

And how was she supposed to reply to something like that? With sarcasm, perhaps? "Yes, being half blind is a little more than disorienting. But hey, I can still function, I can still fight, so help me God. And if you call theft of your sibling's eye in exchange for power 'surgery' then yes! Yes it WAS surgery! It was pretty fucking painful but look where it's got me so far! I've landed myself in a shitty hole with murderers and when everything is all said and DONE, God knows where I'll be, or even if I'll be at all! Fuck, what a life, eh? I just love this eye. Red, the color of blood, the color of death. Now a days I only have the presence of that truth and the company of the forest animals. Except the squirrels," she would add with contempt, "they are NOT my friends, those bastards."

Yuki laughed at the thought, vividly imagining such a confrontation. She ran some kind of fruity-smelling shampoo through her ragged brown hair, the red highlights faded in with the brown due to the water. On the other side of the shower curtain, Deidara refrained from asking what it was the woman found so amusing. Because with Yuki, it could be anything. And as the young kunoichi would agree, he knew that sometimes you were better off _not_ knowing.

"You almost done?" Deidara asked, impatient. His tone of voice did not carry through to Yuki, though. The sound of the falling water muffled it to a good degree.

"Say what?" Yuki called, rinsing the last of a conditioner through her brown hair.

"Never mind," he said, sighing. _I wonder what kind of hidden flower is on the other side of that curtain – no, don't think that._ A part of him replied to his thoughts with, _What, too tempting, Mr. Terrorist?_

Yuki finger-combed the hair that covered her left eye, then did the same to the rest of its choppy length, finally shutting off the water. She sighed, relaxed, momentarily forgetting there was a grown man on the other side of the curtain.

She reached out for the towel placed on a hook on the wall next to the shower. No sooner had she brought it to her, though, when the world before her started to dim. Her vision blurred in and out, and dark forms appeared around her on all sides. She felt like she was slowly being swallowed up in a sinister darkness.

"Deidara?" she said, calling out. Or, she thought she'd called him. Her voice was a whisper. The blond had heard her cry, though, and turned. "Yeah, what-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw the woman's shadow against the shower curtain. It was only barely defined by the light in the room, but it was definitely distinguishable. It wasn't the delicate, curvy form of a lady, but a dragon. A mean one.

"What the fuck is that?" he said, muscles tensing in preparation for attack. Yuki shook her head furiously, trying to bring the light back into her world. The shadows, taking canine forms now, only lunged at her, causing her skin to feel a mixture of hot and cold. The dizziness intensified ten-fold.

So many emotions stirred within her that it was hard for her to decipher which of them she should be feeling. Sadness? Worry? Joy? Anger? Anger, yes, that felt right. But it felt dark, too.

She didn't have time to resist the impulse. She struck out against the shadows with all of her current physical strength, using the water vapor in the air and from her canteen on the floor nearby to create small daggers of ice, one after another, shooting them in all directions. Some pierced the curtain, and Deidara had to move fast to avoid them. "What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Just go away!" she screamed, though not at him. The Akatsuki member wasn't going to leave, however. He didn't plan to, even if she was having some sort of episode. He wasn't going to leave her alone like...that.

"What's wrong?" he asked, shouting. More spikes of ice collided with the wall beside him, and a few lodged themselves in the door to his right.

It only took a dozen more shooting in his direction to tear the curtain, and in what seemed like slow motion, it fell to the floor, revealing a furious woman attacking...nothing.

There appeared to be nothing there, and yet she was fighting against something, or maybe someone, that he could not see. But it was clear _she _could see it, whatever _it_ was.

"What are you doing?" Deidara asked, dodging another ice dagger. She didn't have the best aim due to her current state of mind. All she felt was the need to attack with force, not accuracy.

"The shadows, these wolves, can't you see them?!" Yuki shouted, turning to him, not realizing she was naked. She hadn't had time to wrap the towel around her once the shadows had appeared. She also didn't realize the form her own shadow had taken. A fierce dragon lay on the floor, flat, unmoving. The place where its eyes were...glowed. It was faint, but it was there. It was unnatural, and more than a little creepy to the man in the room with her.

"What shadows?" Deidara asked, too busy keeping an eye out for stray ice to drink in the image before him. He wasn't too concerned, though, because the way things seemed to be going between them, he'd get her clothes off another day.

"What the fuck do you mean, 'what shadows'?! They're right-" She turned back to fend off what she thought she'd seen with peripheral vision, but in a flash they were gone. There was nothing there. The dragon had disappeared in an instant.

"They were-" Yuki took a step backward, and before she could stop it, she fainted. With his speed Deidara easily caught her before she hit the floor. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her, then grabbed the clothes she was to wear. A hint of concern could be seen on his face as he carried her out of the room and down a few hallways to his own bedroom.

He didn't see the harm in letting her sleep on the actual bed, just for a little while. Until she woke up. Then she'd be on the floor, as he'd told her before. Once on the soft covers, he set her clothes on the nightstand, and placed the cloak over her to keep her semi-warm. "Hm. What an odd woman."

He walked out of the room, only glancing back once before he shut the door quietly behind him. He made his way to the bathroom to clean up the mess she'd made, and replace the now completely torn curtain. The door would have to be replaced, too. There were several holes and dents from where her ice daggers and spikes had pierced it. It was true what they often said – anger blinded people. For Yuki that was more literal, but nonetheless true.

"Kakuzu isn't going to be too happy about this," Deidara thought aloud, realizing he was going to have to add new bathroom supplies to the list of expenses for the group. As he cleaned up, his eyes fixed on the tiled floor for a moment, remembering that dragon. It was dark, looming, haunting in its image.

Could that have been a jutsu of some kind? He doubted it. It was something...evil.

In any case, she was going to have to suck it up and recover from...what that was. She had another "pick up" tomorrow, and Deidara had made it his responsibility to make sure she did her job. If she didn't, she'd be deemed useless and killed. And regardless of how the rest of the group felt about her sudden presence, that was the last thing he wanted. Not that he was going to tell_ her _that. Oh, no.

That would make him seem soft. Very unfitting of a strong shinobi. He was keeping watch over her simply because the leader valued her as a powerful pawn, a tool to get things done more efficiently.

Of course, tools had many uses.


	3. Part Three

_When The Psychotic Wolf Howls_

_This is a One-shot fan-fic I wrote for my friend, Amber. _

_In return she crafted a picture of a character in my own original story._

_My goal had been ten pages but it ended up being thirty-eight._

_So I've divided this into three parts._

_**This is part three of three.**_

_I only posted it so my technique is displayed in case I decide to accept commission work in the future._

_The main character is Amber's OC, "Yuki Ookami." She is a mentally unstable woman of 17 with many, many odd manners and issues. I worked with what she'd given me, haha._

_Enjoy, y'all!_

* * *

Yuki's eyes opened slowly. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but flashes of what had happened entered her mind. She shivered just remembering the shadows, how disoriented she had felt. It was best described as unbearable vertigo.

And Deidara had been there, watching, clearly not able to see what she saw. She sat up, sweeping her eyes across the shadowed room quickly, making sure nothing dark was moving when it should not have been. Everything was quiet and still. A sigh of relief was replaced by a smile.

"I must've looked like such an idiot," Yuki said, joking with herself, trying to stay positive.

She looked to her left, and saw her clothes sitting folded on the nightstand beside the bed. Atop the clothing she saw a band of white cloth. "For my eye," she thought aloud, and wrapped it around her head so her half-blind orb was concealed in all of its blood red mystery.

She looked down and noticed that she was still wearing the towel, and that her cloak had been placed over her as a sort of blanket.

_Deidara must've-_ Her thought was cut short as the door opened, the sudden click making her jump.

Deidara walked in and near smiled at her. "You're awake, hm."

"How long have I been-"

"Several hours." He made his way to the bed, handing her a glass of orange juice. He looked as though he didn't really want to be there, standing beside her as he was.

Yuki gulped down half the glass and paused to look up at him, wondering why he was avoiding looking at her.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

Deidara shook his head with barely enough motion to see. "Nothing, Yuki. Just finish your juice and head to the kitchen. It's the middle of the night, and though you've already had dinner, I suggest you eat something to build your strength back up for tomorrow's mission. You're picking up a jonin-in-training from the leaf village."

"Oh, okay," Yuki said, sounding a bit put out. "I understand."

Deidara hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, but refrained. "I have a few things to do outside the base. You're to sleep on the floor. Got that?"

"Yeah," Yuki said, finished her orange juice. "Thanks for the juice," she added, handing him the glass.

Deidara took it and rolled his eyes, though only one was actually showing. He noticed she'd used the bandage he'd left for her, but didn't like that she covered her red eye. It added to her unique charm.

"It wasn't a problem." He left the room, then, giving her space to get dressed. He was out on reconnaissance and didn't feel like drawing out the time he was close to the woman in such little clothing.

"Did I do something wrong?" Yuki said, causing him to pause in the doorway, light flooding into the room.

Deidara turned. "No, don't worry about it." He took another step and added, "Tobi will be here for the remainder of the night and tomorrow. If you get bored, just call for him."

Then he shut the door.

Yuki stared at the emptiness of the space he had previously occupied and a small frown crept onto her face. _For my next assignment he won't be coming with me_, she thought, almost sadly, and began to get dressed.

* * *

"Here's your next victim," Yuki said flatly, dragging the leaf ninja, who was unconscious, into the kitchen. Kisame, Tobi, and Kakuzu were there, looking at her strangely. She'd done a number on him already, it appeared. Without another word she left the doomed man on the tiled floor and walked out of the room back to her own.

The floor in Deidara's room had not been comfortable at all. It was carpeted, which was surprising to her, because the base they currently occupied was underground. And it seemed like a temporary establishment, so there wasn't much of a point in paying that much mind to the flooring. They probably traveled a lot, she guessed, but maybe they called this place home more than a few times, and for that reason had tended to some degree of detail.

Now in her own room, she turned on the lights and sighed. Deidara was back from his earlier mission, though she hadn't come across him yet. Tobi had incessantly tried to cheer her up the night before but to no avail. She fell asleep on the floor of Deidara's room to the sound of the man's voice.

And when she awoke, she had to go out and find a man she knew was going to die. And it was her fault. She'd played a part in two murders, now. Of course, there was no guilt.

There never was.

But it didn't stop there. No, it wouldn't have been that easy. A knock on her door ended the peaceful silence, and only added to her stress.

"Yuki?" Tobi called.

"What?" she replied, not bothering to go to the door.

"Kisame says we're out of food pills and that Yuki has to go get them."

Yuki sighed and walked to the door, opening it. "Why?"

Tobi shrugged. "Kisame just said that Yuki should be the one to get them so that Yuki doesn't have to mope around the base while Deidara is trying to keep himself busy."

"I agreed to kidnap people, not to do your shopping."

Tobi just stood there, waiting. Expecting.

Waiting. Silently.

"Fine," Yuki mumbled, brushing past him in her walk down the hall from the doorway. Tobi called after her, "Does Yuki want Tobi to-"

"I'll go by myself!" she yelled, and turned a corner.

-----------------

In a transformation jutsu, Yuki, currently a tall blond woman dressed in a blue skirt and white tank top, was walking down the street of a nearby village. It wasn't a shinobi village, but carried supplies, despite its small area on the map.

She'd brought a small amount of money with her. She was sure that any of the Akatsuki would've just stolen the pills, which would have been cake with the skills they had. But she had more moral fiber than they did. It was barely there, sure, but still weaved brightly into her life.

She left the shop with a small white bag loaded with food pills. She wasn't sure how much Kisame had wanted her to buy, so she bought five bottles and hoped that was enough.

"Next thing I know they're going to have me doing their laundry, too," she mumbled, walking down the path out of the tiny village. There were barely any people around, so she didn't bother worrying about being followed. When she was far enough out from the roads she changed back to her normal self. Portraying the bimbo had been making her sick, and she felt relieved to be just regular Yuki again.

When she was about half a mile from the base, though, she sensed a presence in the forest somewhere nearby. It was another ninja, for sure.

She walked through the trees, scanning the upcoming area. And then she saw him. Zetsu.

He seemed to be just walking, though she wondered as to his purpose outside. He wasn't fighting anyone. Not _anymore._

"Hey Zetsu," Yuki greeted, stopping when she was a few feet away. His plant-like exterior didn't intimidate her. It merely reminded her of the trees she so often practiced her taijutsu against.

"Hello," he said plainly, not seeming too interested in her. Well, at first glance he didn't. Then he did. He seemed_ really_ interested.

And a moment later, he was back to not caring two figs about her.

It wasn't so much a change in expression as it was the look in the man's eyes. It went from normal, to hungry, to something Yuki couldn't place, then back to normal.

"What's your fucking problem?" Yuki bluntly asked, noticing his disinterest. She didn't care that he wasn't paying her any mind. She did want to know what was occupying his attention, though. Being the young woman she was, she often sought the answers to questions any sane person would know to avoid.

Having no prior knowledge of Zetsu's "ways," she didn't take the hint to leave. That hint was the hunger in his eyes, that look provoked from his darker half that just screamed, "_I'm going to enjoy devouring you_."

"I have no quarrel with you," he said, turning to leave the area. He clearly had better things to do.

Yuki, on the other hand, didn't.

She was free to waste the time of the organization for however long she wanted, she would've argued, because they were the ones causing her to assist in murder in the first place. She didn't object because of its immorality. Hell, that was last on the list.

Put simply, it was extremely boring.

"Don't walk away from me!" she exclaimed, angry, now. Yet another emotional flair. This time, however, she was unknowingly messing with the worst person.

Zetsu turned slowly to face her, his eyes gleaming again. "Would you prefer I walk towards you, then?"

Yuki's eyes narrowed. Was he just fucking with her, now, or what? "You want to turn this into a fight?" she asked, watching him warily as he took a step forward.

"Well I can't say how technique-oriented it would be, but I guarantee it would be somewhat of a struggle," he said lowly, eying her.

Yuki dropped the bag of food pills to the ground next to her feet. A sinister smile crept onto her young, pale face, and her green, uncovered eye gleamed something mischievous.

"It's on, plant man."

* * *

A very incensed Zetsu walked through the kitchen doorway, which the blond and blue-skinned men in the room did not fail to notice.

"What's your deal?" Deidara asked, drinking some hot tea, sitting at the table.

Kisame regarded the cannibal with a minimal level of interest, giving him the faintest glance of curiosity.

Zetsu hesitated before replying, choosing to take a bite from one of the rice balls arranged on a plate on the counter next to him. After swallowing he thought for a moment, finally saying in an almost astonished tone, "She bit me."

Deidara set his tea cup (a standard cup, nothing feminine about it) on the table and raised an eyebrow, confused. "Who bit you?"

"That girl Pein brought here, Yuki." The darker half added, "She fucking BIT me. ME!"

Kisame chuckled. "What'd you do to piss her off?"

"It wasn't even my doing. I wanted nothing to do with her."

_Ten Minutes Previous-_

"_It's on, plant man," Yuki challenged, stepping forward, readying herself. Zetsu sighed inaudibly. He'd just finished a meal, for God's sake. He didn't feel like fending off some crazy woman just because her temper flared a tad too easily. _

"_You're making a problem of nothing," he reasoned, hoping she would let him get back to his other errands. At the top of the list was returning to the base for a moment or two of rest, then heading out again. There was yet another potentially-threatening holder/sharer of information that needed to be "eliminated."_

"_For a kunoichi, you're pretty..."._

"_Pretty what?" she demanded._

"_Dense," he finished flatly, stepping to his right just barely. Two kunai flew by him, the edges of the knives not succeeding in damaging the plant-like appendage._

_In a flash Yuki was before him, throwing a punch straight at his face. The Akatsuki member caught her arm, though, looking at her with an expression similar to that of a parent's when scolding a child._

"_You can't-"_

_He was going to say "win," but stopped when he looked up, away from her suddenly smirking face. Above the two ninja were dozens of spikes made of ice, all several feet in length and several inches in width. In the light of the sun they looked sharp, like knives._

"_Still think I'm stupid?" she asked. Zetsu didn't answer. But suddenly, the presence in front of her, it felt...empty._

_She snapped her fingers and one of the spikes shot down from the sky above. Its cold surface barely caressed her hair as it slid past her face, gracefully cutting the bandage that concealed her left eye. Her red orb revealed, she now saw the chakra that composed the clone before her._

_The cloaked man vanished in a burst of water, which puddled on the ground for a moment before being soaked into the earth._

_Then she sensed it. Someone behind her, near a tree, maybe? No, inside it? That's what it felt like. Sensitive to chakra in many forms, Yuki didn't want to doubt what she thought her eyes and ninja senses were telling her, but she didn't have a clue as to the full range of abilities of the white and black wonder._

"_Got you!" she shouted, spinning on her heel and throwing down all of the spikes at once, aimed for the tree ten yards away. Her eyes, her blood, they'd locked onto him now, and she knew exactly where he was hiding. _

_At the last second Zetsu separated from the giant oak, barely evading the spikes with the speed she'd sent them down._

"_The more you fight, the tastier you look," the darker half said._

_Yuki was gone in a flash, though. The man looked in all directions but could not spot her place of hiding. Silence echoed loudly in the surrounding forest for several moments. And that's when she struck._

_A sharp, stinging pain told the Akatsuki member where the woman had gone. Having hidden from above, she'd launched herself downward from a perch he hadn't known existed, and latched onto the left side of the lengthy plant extension that protected his face._

_Yuki chose this spot because it was large and easy to aim for. And easy to sink her teeth into. Her jaws shut like a steel trap around the strange, green body part. Oh, right, plant-part._

"_What the hell?" Zetsu said, more surprised than pained. He leaned forward a bit and tried to shake the woman off, but she wouldn't budge. Her lithe, honed form swung in the air almost playfully._

"_Let go!" he growled, spinning in a tight circle, now._

"_Taak eet ack!" her muffled voice shouted._

"_What?"_

"_TAAK EET ACK, ASHHOLE!" she yelled again._

_Realization dawned on the man as he pieced together what she'd said- take it back...asshole._

"_No!" he replied, getting angry. He wanted to finish his errands and she was making it impossible._

"_Mmf chu falk rech nuush!!" she shouted, her voice completely butchered from the side-to-side motion she was being swung in. Zetsu was surprised at her jaw strength. It was unnatural. Then he got an idea. He'd heard from Tobi (unfortunately) that she had been hanging out with bomb boy pretty frequently._

"_What're you doing out here, Deidara?" he asked, making sure he was loud enough so that Yuki would hear him over the sound of her own muffled cursing._

_Almost instantly her jaw opened and she dropped like a stone to the ground, landing painfully on her side. "WHERE?!" she asked, frantically searching the surrounding area._

_There was no one. _

_And in the blink of an eye, Zetsu was gone, too._

"_Fuck," she mumbled, rubbing her cheeks as the ache began to set in. She headed back to the base, food pill bag in tow, wanting to wash the strange taste out of her mouth._

_Present-_

Kisame chuckled. "She's probably back here by now. I hope she remembered the pills."

Deidara sighed in amusement. "Where is she now, hm?"

Zetsu shrugged. "I don't know."

"And I don't care," the dark half chimed.

"Don't get too upset about it," Kisame said casually. "She's crazy, but she's got a sense of humor."

"She seemed so entertained by the thought of fighting me. Of course, she was angry the entire time, for whatever reason, but I swear she would've been laughing had her mouth not been so full of...me," he finished awkwardly, thinking over the sentence.

Deidara and Kisame snickered loudly, holding in laughter.

Zetsu ignored them and grabbed another rice ball from the counter. There was a long silence when no one said anything. Not that anything needed to be said. Yuki was...Yuki.

After a few minutes, though, the blond man stood from the table, finished with his tea, and went to leave the room.

"Going to go find her, aren't you?" Kisame teased, not hiding his smirk.

Deidara only glanced at him with an "I'll get you later" look, and swiftly exited the kitchen, heading down the hall towards the living room.

There the woman sat, cross-legged on the orange couch. He sometimes wondered why it was there. Orange didn't match anything in the base except for Tobi's mask, and quite frankly he stuck out enough as it was.

_Come to think of it, there was a couch just like that one in the last several bases, as well_, he thought, finding a strange familiarity in the fact.

Hidan had commented on it only once, saying, or rather, shouting angrily, "Why the fuck is there always a god-damned orange couch where ever we go? Every fucking place there's a random as hell ORANGE couch. Who ever is doing this, I'm seriously going to rip their windpipe from their throat and kill them three times over!"

The other members in the room at the time had just ignored him, dispersing upon entry to the new hideout even as the masochistic man began to shred the piece of furniture with his scythe. And yet, here was the exact same couch.

On it sat Yuki.

She was looking content in the dim room, sipping from a clear glass what he assumed was juice of some kind.

With silent steps he made his way to the black leather sofa opposite the couch she was in, and sat down.

Yuki only looked at him, expecting something. Anything, really.

Deidara glanced at the bag next to her on one of the cushions. The food pills.

"I heard about your confrontation with Zetsu," he said, watching her for a reaction.

"Mhm," she mumbled, drinking more of the red liquid.

"You actually bit him?"

"Mhm."

"What are you drinking, hm?"

Yuki moved her mouth away from the glass and smiled. "Cherry juice."

The blond man raised an eyebrow, noticing that despite her left eye's odd appearance, it still seemed to light up when she was happy.

"Why cherry juice? I tried some of that and it's extremely sweet."

"I want to rid my tongue of the taste of Zetsu," she replied, seeming to shudder at the words.

"And what exactly might that be?" he asked, keeping himself from smiling at the second context.

"It's like...a mix of steel, honey, tree sap, and birch bark," she explained, thinking, and took another sip.

Deidara didn't want to know how Yuki knew what that combination tasted like. Somehow it didn't surprise him, though.

"So you have another pick up, tomorrow," he reminded, wanting her to keep her duties with the organization in mind.

"Mhm," she replied again, seeming distracted.

"What are you thinking ab-"

"Why were you being so mean before?" Yuki asked suddenly. "Acting as if I'd done something wrong."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Tobi was-"

"It wasn't Tobi's fault. You told me to talk to him if I got bored. What's the real reason?"

"Well, let's put it this way. Living with all men is frustrating if you are NOT homosexual. There are no women, with the exception of Konan, who we never see. Pein doesn't regularly bring women 'home,' so to speak, so suddenly having you around put me a little on edge."

Yuki set her glass down on the end table beside the couch and stood, taking a step forward to lean down teasingly in front of the man. "Aw, do I bother your male mind THAT much, Deidara?" she bantered.

Deidara thought for only an instant that he'd be able to rip the black and red cloak from her body before she knew what hit her, but the idea was pushed back. Way back. Still visible, though. Like a star. A very bright one.

Hell, it was the fucking sun.

He smirked, and grabbed the collar of it, instead, pulling her face down to level with his, inches away. "I could ask you something similar," he whispered.

The man's purr of a voice caused Yuki to blush. Whatever tone he was using, she was willing to bet he'd practiced it to a good degree.

_Why don't you do anything?_

_ Kiss him, Yuki._

_ Should I?_

_ He might get upset._

_No he wouldn't._

_ He obviously wants you._

_ He's just so cute._

_ I can't-_

"Shut up," she commanded, quieting the voices.

Deidara's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Yuki's blush deepened. "Oh, um, I wasn't talking to you!" she explained quickly.

Deidara was going to inquire, "Then who were you talking to? Yourself?" But he already knew the answer to that one.

"Yuki, you are strange, hm. But I like you for it. It's what makes you so...cute," he admitted quietly, hoping he'd chosen the right words without making himself sound stupid.

He was also hoping no one would walk in on them during their current "moment." He didn't want to have to kill anyone today.

Yuki seemed surprised by what he'd said, evident by her eyes. Then, slowly, she smiled.

That smile turned into a wickedly happy grin, and she lunged forward in a tight embrace, knocking the blond man back onto the leather sofa. She nuzzled her face against his chest, being shorter than him. Deidara had to grab the backrest of the sofa to steady both himself and Yuki, who was now laying on top of him. He never thought her random nature would actually turn him on.

It was so unexpected. Then again, so were half the things Yuki did and said.

"I like you, too!" she exclaimed happily, as if she'd been holding in the news for months. For it having only been several days, she'd somehow formed an attraction to him.

_Though, who wouldn't? I am one handsome son of a bitch. Take that, Hidan. Your ritual slave wants me, and you'll never have her._

He smirked at the thought, knowing how badly the masochist had wanted to sacrifice her for his own pleasure.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Yuki asked, sitting up now, positioned over his stomach. Deidara chuckled and lifted her up and off him, then stood. "I was just thinking, hm."

"Of?" she tilted her head, and one of the lights lit up the red streaks in her hair. The bangs over her left eye shifted against her cheek, and he wanted nothing more than to assault her with kisses for being so damned cute.

"Would you be willing to stay here with us? Would you keep kidnapping by Pein's order?" he asked, serious.

Yuki swung her legs side-to-side for a moment or two, thinking. Her eyes roamed the dim room, and then lingered on something that caught her eye. In the furthest, darkest corner stood a wolf. It was a shadow, a cursed creation of her mind, which was slowly losing order, slowly slipping away from her.

Its eyes lit up red upon being spotted, and in an extremely slow gesture it bared its teeth in a sickening smile. The shadow wolf's fur stood on end, and it looked as though it would lunge out of the cover of the darkness at any moment.

Yuki's heart-rate sped up only slightly. Deidara was with her, standing there, waiting for an answer. Would she stay?

It's not as if she had anywhere else to go. She didn't plan to return home, either. She missed Kaji, her sister with an affinity for shadows, but it was probably best she didn't show her face for a while longer, at the least.

Deidara noticed Yuki staring off into space in the direction of a corner behind him, and turned to follow her gaze. He saw nothing. Something told him that she really was seeing something that he couldn't. This time, though, she wasn't hyperventilating or in a panic of any sort, so he let it slide.

Turning back to the woman sitting in front of him, he looked down at her expectantly. "Well?"

Yuki gazed into his exposed blue eye for a long moment, then glanced at the wolf. It was growling in warning, now. But upon thinking of the man before her, the wolf's image began to fade in and out of focus. It was as if her thoughts of him...weakened it.

With a sly smile she turned back to Deidara. "I'll stay," she agreed. Deidara grinned, which was a strange thing to see on the face of a terrorist.

Yuki turned back to the shadow again, and saw it was fading away now, sitting with its tail between its legs. _Fuck you_, she thought triumphantly, and stood from the sofa.

"Let's go get something to eat," the blond suggested, realizing he was hungry. The tea he'd drank in the kitchen had not been all that filling.

Yuki nodded, not hiding her excitement. Her being with the Akatsuki was no longer just about kidnapping their weaker targets to keep herself alive. Now it was kidnapping their weaker targets to stay with Deidara. She didn't have much of an opinion on the others, though. Hidan was the sadistic bastard, Tobi was the hyperactive spaz, Deidara was the hot one, Zetsu was a fucking shrub, and the rest she had yet to get to know. Next on her list was Kisame. His blue skin tone intrigued her.

Immensely.

"You want ice-cream?" Deidara offered, thinking it was more of a celebration meal than anything else.

Yuki broke from her thoughts and nearly jumped with joy. "YES!!" she shouted.

Deidara rolled his eyes with a playful expression and began walking, knowing she'd follow him.

Once they were in the hallway, Yuki, walking on his left side with a cheerful spring in her step, asked, "So...since we're leaving the base anyway, mind if I pick up something?"

Deidara kept his eyes on the approaching door at the end of the hall. "What is it?"

"Well, I was hoping to maybe buy a coat or something warm, because your bedroom floor isn't the coziest place to sleep, and when winter gets here-"

Her words were replaced by a small gasp of surprise when she was slammed against the wall beside her. The blond man firmly placed his hands on the wall to each side of her face, and locked eyes with her in an almost predatory fashion. "Yuki," he purred, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Um...yes?" she said quietly, not able to look away from him, from his handsome face, looking all the more attractive up-close.

Deidara leaned forward without hesitation and kissed her then and there, not seeming to care anymore if any of the other members saw them. Unlike the gentle kiss he'd given her out of the blue while in the bathroom before, this one was deep and lustful. Hungry, full of desire. But controlled.

Yuki kissed back this time, though still inwardly surprised. _Oh my god oh my god oh my god_, she thought excitedly, her teenage mind in a frenzy of joy and attraction.

With slow grace he pulled back barely an inch, taking a moment to run his tongue along her bottom lip. He smirked seductively and straightened up, moving away from her, freeing her from the prison that had been his arms beside her. "Cherry," he noted, and chuckled at seeing her blush.

Yuki couldn't help but smile. She was about to say something, but he put his index finger to her lips.

"Now that I've got your attention, I want you to know something," he said, serious again. It was starting to freak Yuki out, how fast he went from one mood to the next. One second clever and funny, the next stern and solid like a rock.

A hot rock.

"What?" she asked.

"You aren't to sleep on the floor anymore."

Yuki's eyes brightened. "Really? Does that mean I can have the couch?" she questioned, loving the idea of being up and off the chilly floor.

Deidara rolled his eyes. "No, I've got a much more comfortable place in mind for you."

Yuki raised an eyebrow in confusion, studying him. "Where?"

Deidara did a mental face-palm. "Yuki. You'll be with me. In bed. Every night. Understand?"

Yuki giggled. "Yea!" She wrapped her arms around his cloaked arm and grinned. "Now, ice-cream time! Yay!"

Deidara continued walking, an amused expression on his face. "You're more excited about the damn ice-cream than sleeping with me," he said suspiciously.

Yuki laughed at this, but made no reply. Deidara dismissed her reaction, realizing that with the way her mind worked (if one could claim it even functioned properly half the time, that is), the fact probably hadn't sunk in yet. But it would, later on. He would make sure of that.

As they walked down the remainder of the hall to leave the base, many logical (yes, logical) thoughts flew about in her mind. The most prominent was that she was extremely happy to be able to stay with Deidara.

Despite the organization's affiliation with murder and criminal acts, she felt oddly at home with the Akatsuki. They all seemed to have something strange about them, whether it was Hidan's immortality, Kisame's skin color, or Deidara's extra (and conveniently located) mouths. She wasn't exactly sane and had retained the power of water and ice manipulation without it diminishing, which was exceedingly rare in her clan. She was also haunted by the presence of the shadows.

The all-consuming presence of the Shadow of Progression had been haunting her all her life. But here, when she was with Deidara, she felt as if those shadows weakened, lost a bit of their power. Her inner strength grew when she thought of him, and for some reason it was a repellent to the forms that were slowly eating away her mind.

She guessed it was because she was resisting them, their corruption. If she were to just lie down and allow them to engulf her, the battle would already be over. But she was living and fighting for a damn good reason, and that reason's name was Deidara.

At the least, her living with him would slow the shadow's progress. Yes, it would slow considerably. And for the time being, her far-off future of complete and utter insanity to the point of no return did not matter to her. For the time being, her world consisted of a hot as hell blond and cookie dough ice-cream.

For Yuki Ookami, the day was good.

And the night would be even better.

**FIN!**


End file.
